Avoid skunks like
the plague. One way to avoid them is to
sniff dens before you put your dog into them. and
look for their tracks (see picture below), but in
truth these precautions rarely work. Note also that a
fox sette will smell "skunky" from
November-March.

In addition:

Never
enter a dog to a den without a locating collar
on (and working!) and without digging tools
at hand.

Never
enter a dog in undiggable earth such as a
concrete building foundation, the compacted
floor of a horse stall, or rock dens.

Never
enter a dog without tools to dig and the
physical ability to do so.

Skunk Toxic Shock

If you dog is hit by a skunk
underground you may be in very
serious trouble!Get your dog out of the
ground as fast as possible.

Even if your dog recovers, he or
she may be in trouble. Skunk spray explodes
red blood cells, and can cause serious persistent
anemia in your dog. Check your dog's gums
regularly for at least a two or three hours after
being sprayed. If the dog's gums become very pale
(almost white), rush your dog to a vet.

Most dogs get out of the ground
on their own or with help, and most dogs
recover from an underground skunking provided
they get out quickly. Time is of the essence,
however, and a dog can lapse into a comma after only
a few minutes if it is unable to exit a tight earth.

If your dog has pale gums or
seems to be in shock, rush it to a vet and make
sure your dog is seen immediately.
Explain that the problem is MORE than stink: skunk-related
shock and anemia can kill a dog.

The best course of therapy is to
fully hydrate the dog (an IV may be needed)
to speed the flushing of toxins, as well as to dose
the dog with Acetycistein (sold as Mucomyst, Fluimucil,
Mucolator, or Tixair).

Acetycistein
seems to help on a couple of levels -- it
helps the dog cough mucous out of the lungs, it
strengthens blood cells and the vascular system in
general, and it helps prevent reduction in renal
function -- a big issue with skunk toxic shock
syndrome. Finally, with mercury poisoning, it has
helped speed the elimination of the poison through
the urinary system -- it may do the same with skunk
toxins as well. Since acetylcystein is cheap, easily
available and a well-tolerated drug, starting a dog
on this would seem to make sense if skunk toxic shock
seems to be setting in.

Nothing will completely get the smell of
skunk out except time, but a new product helps a lot.

"Nature's Miracle Skunk Odor
Remover" really is a miracle. You will need a
quart of this stuff for a terrier, but buy two just
in case (about $10 a bottle). The main ingredient is
alcohol, but the important ingredient are various
enzymes that break down the stink.

This stuff works like new money.
After a skunking your dog may smell better than it
did before.

I have tried other commercial skunk-odor
removers (Skunk Off) on the market, and they simply
do not work as well.

I have also tried everything else --
masengill douche, tomato juice, and vinegar.

The most common recipe for
skunk-odor removal is a hydrogen peroxide/baking soda
recipe:

1 Quart of 3%
Hydrogen Peroxide

1/4 cup of
Baking Soda

1 teaspoon of
Liquid Soap

Wash while
mixture is bubbling... rinse off with tap
water.

The quantities
described here are for a small Jack Russell. Scale up
as necessary. Use FRESH Hydrogen Peroxide... H2O2
will eventually turn into water.

My suggestion is to
ditch everything else and rush out and stock up on
two or three quarts of "Nature's
Miracle Skunk Odor Remover". This stuff works
better than the home remedy.

Skunk spray contains
several Thiols. One of them,trans-2-Butenyl
thioacetate is a NEW CHEMICAL, never reported in the
literature before it was found in an analysis of
skunk spray. Another, 2-Quinolinemethanethiol had
already been synthesized, but had never been found in
nature until this new analysis of skunk spray.

The oxygen in the Hydrogen
Peroxide releases the Thiols (the odor part) as it
foams up, and the detergent removes the oily part
that holds the odor in the animal's fur.

Eye
Ulcerations

It is probably
a myth that skunk spray can cause permanent
blindness. When gotten into the eyes thespray often causes temporary
blindness, and burns like crazy, but there are no
documented cases of skunk spray causing permanent
blindness in a dog.

If you dog does end up
with ulcerations of the cornea, crate the dog for
several days and load it up on antibiotics
(cephelaxin is fine). The only thing to fear is
infection. The important thing is to let the eye rest
and heal.

After your dog is
sprayed, expect your dog to have small blisters and
ulcers around sensitive areas such as lips and ears
-- this is normal and will go away. It is caused by
the extreme acidity of skunk spray.

Feed and water your
dog well and keep warm and rested for at least a week
after a skunk encounter.

Road flares placed in
a skunk den are said to kill the animal, but if your
dog has just been sprayed and stink is pouring out of
the hole you may just want to get the hell out of
there.